Chesapeake Bay Spill May Do Little Harm
About 160,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled into Chesapeake Bay from a grounded barge will not significantly harm the nation’s largest estuary, officials said.
Cleanup of the oil began Thursday, one day after the barge sprang a leak near Smith Point. The barge ran aground at the mouth of Indian Creek when the leak grew to a 30-foot crack in the hull.
Ann Hayward Walker, a scientific support coordinator with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, said the fuel appeared to be concentrated in about a quarter mile surrounding the barge in Indian Creek. “The rest of the bay looks pretty clean,” she said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
